Young professional moving to Denver in July (Highlands Ranch, Littleton: apartments, rental)

[bholm11]

Hello everyone-

My name's Ben, I've just gotten a job down by Chatfield lake and will be heading to Denver in late July. Overall, I'm very excited. I like hiking, snowboarding, craft beers, music, and the outdoors. I've heard a lot of great things. I'm 23, have a serious girlfriend, am an aerospace engineer, and am social but often like to stay at home and do things by myself. I enjoy getting beers/food with friends and having a friendly community close by. I like to meet interesting people who are passionate about what they do, whether or not it is related to my interests.

I'd like to save a good amount of money for the first part of my career, but I also would like to get a feel for living in a big city. I'll be working an 8-5, and am willing to commute up to ~30 minutes.

Right now, I feel like a suburb on the light rail (englewood or littleton) might be ideal, providing cheap living but easy access to downtown and a mild commute, but I'm wondering if these areas will be a little too bland, or family oriented, for me.

Could you please compare and contrast Littleton, Englewood, and DT Denver areas?

For a 1-br apartment, what is the price differential between living in a cheap RiNo apartment vs. Littleton vs. Englewood? I have gotten the impression I will pay $1100 min in RiNO, and maybe $800 in Littleton or Englewood.

Thank you for your time, any thoughts are welcome.

[eatsDEN]

My friend is currently living in off of Tennyson in the Berkley neighboorhood, and evaluating LoHi --
I believe that $1100 may be a little low of a figure, for a unit above ~400 square feet... She's seeing stuff being asked for $1300+ for not super new units... and they seemingly go fast

downtown to chatfield is about 30/40 minutes, depending on where exactly near downtown you are... 10/15 minutes in downtown itself can be consumed pretty easily, depending on the exact locale... snow days require more commute time...

I have a studio rental a mile or so south of Wadsworth and Hampden, kinda close to Chatfield - I charge ~$700/mo, but understand I am pretty low in the complex for a comprable unit.... I've inquired in units simmilar to mine (~900 square feet, loft style studio apt.) where the owner is now looking for $900 to $1150/mo.
(but I like to rent the unit quickly and keep longterm tennants... I'm not super concerned with additional cash flows.)

This area can be Denver, Jefferson, Arapahoe county depending on what side of the street you are on.....

[JWEvergreen]

Check out padmapper.com and you'll get a more realistic picture of the rents out here. Good luck with your new job and the move.

Use Golden, Co as the city you are looking for and you will see some very good examples. (And Golden might be a good choice for you).

[TJames30]

Hi Bro,

I was raised in Littleton (near the border of Highlands Ranch) and can say that there's a reason we used to call it "Littlefun". Don't get me wrong, there are bars throughout L-town (mostly chains), but they are usually spread out and not ones you can go bar hopping in, like in downtown. IMO the same holds true in HR and Lone Tree. Englewood has some bars on Broadway (if I recall correctly), but isn't as nice of an area as the previously mentioned cities. When I was growing up, the area on the border of Littleton (Littleton Blvd near Broadway) was safe enough, but more affordable than the newer parts of Littleton. If you are on Broadway, the farther south you head, usually the more expensive apartments get. I used to live in North Wash Park, which was 1/2 a mile from Washington Park and was in Denver. I paid $580 a month for a 1 BR (plus elec and cable), but that was in 2009 and 2010. If you're more the type to chill out in bars and talk in a low-key setting, Littleton is good, as well as HR, Lone Tree, and the like. If you want a ritzy neighborhood in Denver, Cherry Creek is fairly upscale. But, when I lived in that apt north of Wash Park I was a couple miles from CC, so you can be close to it, but save money if you live in the Wash Park area (assuming you rent and don't try to buy a house, since houses in the Wash Park area are very expensive). If you want to party with the G/F and be around a lively nightlife, then being close to downtown is a better option.

[davidv]

A commute from downtown to Lockheed Martin is 45 - 60 minutes by car or 75 - 90 minutes using light rail and the bus. There is a bus that goes from the Mineral Station to Lockheed Martin a few times each morning and evening. The car commute could easily double due to bad weather or accidents.

Englewood is a typical gentrifying inner ring suburb. It is pretty blue collar, but it is a straight shot up Broadway to downtown. Access to the mountains is pretty easy using Hampden/US 285. The commute is still pretty hairy depending on the time of day.

Entertainment in the city of Littleton is getting better with the construction a few new brewpubs along Santa Fe. There are some other places a few miles east near Park Meadows which is about 7 miles east on C-470.

I would look near work because you are going to make that drive most often, and then worry about going places on the weekend.

[Lost Roses]

That is good advice from David. Live where you can afford to and take light rail to entertainment if necessary. Besides, most neighborhoods will have somewhere to go and socialize so affordable housing would be the most important criteria.

[PBandJam]

I'd recommend Englewood. I used to live in Englewood and i liked it. There are a few fun spots dispersed throughout and it's pretty convenient to Littleton or to Downtown or Cherry Creek. Yes downtown is a little further but it's a straight shot on the lightrail. I think Englewood would be a "sweet spot" for you for a not too bad commute but still somewhat central to the places you want to go. But on the other hand I used to live in Ken Carl and loved that too but there's not a whole lot of action unless hiking is your number one. The winter commutes get tough here, a lot of unequipped vehicles and slippery situations. If you could commute by lightrail you might enjoy that.

[bholm11]

Thanks you all for your help! Leaning towards downtown Littleton now, it sounds like a nice balance between quality properties, commute time, and price.